The Winds of Peace Advisory Committee met last Friday to evaluate the current docket of proposals and recommend funding.  It’s always a dynamic gathering as we discuss the possibilities inherent in small, rural groups that perhaps have never had previous access to project funding. 

One of the proposals that caught our attention was from Nicaragua’s National Union of Agriculture and Ranching (UNAG) in the municipality of San Juan del Rio Coco.  We’ve had other projects in this region, but this one is unique in that it focuses on raising potatoes for seed.  It’s part of UNAG’s Peasant-to-Peasant Program, and it represents the expansion of a pilot project which has been successfully completed there primarily by women farmers.  This is seen as a significant step toward food security for women peasants in the rural sector, as well as an alternative to the coffee mono-cropping which can create land resource problems.  With UNAG’s technical help, these women can potentially create a significant new niche for themselves in the marketplace.

Take a look at the results from one of the pilot project participants and the preparation for the project’s expansion.  We’re excited to be part of this initiative that contains social, economic and environmental components!